The Sacrifice of Ava Black

Chapter 8

The next few days were a complete whirlwind of emotions. The school was in a state of dreary sadness. Students cried, teachers tried their best to comfort them, and all that was on the lips of everyone in town was the death of Mr. Martin. The weather reflected what everyone felt; dark clouds covered the school and rain poured with no end in sight.

And, me? Well, I felt guilty. I never liked Mr. Martin, but I felt awful for being such a jerk to him before his passing. I knew it was silly. Nothing I said or did could have changed what happened to him, but it still clung to me like a wet piece of paper.

Of course, I only knew things that were taking place at the school because of the texts from my friends. With the onset of the weather, I was in severe pain. When I actually had a brief moment of relief I would read the messages from the group chat between me, Gabriel, Kira, and Trevor. It was full of what was going on and what homework I needed to make up. To be honest, it was a bit overwhelming, but I was thankful they cared.

On the third day of being stuck in bed, either that or running to the bathroom to dry heave for the millionth time, I received a private text from Gabriel.

I miss you.

My heart hit hard in my chest. We hadn't had a chance to even talk about our date or the missed plans to get together because I had been unwell.

I miss u 2

One of the only things that gave me any sense of peace was remembering his hands on my face and his lips so close to mine. It might have been comforting to know he cared about me, but it also drove me crazy that we hadn't sealed the deal, so to speak. I would be lying to myself if I said I wasn't starting to feel a bit more than I had initially thought I would.

I knew there was that attraction there, but at some point along the way, my heart started thinking for itself. That was both scary and kind of exciting. What was I letting this guy do to me?

I can't wait for you to feel better. Of course, for your own benefit, but selfishly, for mine. I need to be with you.

Yeah, what was I letting him do? I was letting him wrap me up in his sweet words and perfect grammar. I felt sort of embarrassed that I didn't punctuation or capitalize now.

UR getting better at flirting Matthews

I have a very good reason to try harder.

even if I'm crazy?

You're not.

i guess...

Ava, I believe you.

how? i saw something that wasn't there...

It was real to you. That means something. We'll figure it out. I'm here for you.

thanks, that means a lot

You mean a lot to me. I want to tell you something. When you're feeling better, I will.

u can't do that tell me now!

Haha! It's better in person. Feel better. I'll talk to you soon.

He was such a tease. I slumped back in my bed, willing my head to stop trying to kill me. I wanted to know what he had to say. I wanted to be able to walk out the door and just be normal. I wanted so many things and at the top of the list, I wanted to make out hard with Gabriel Matthews.

As the week wore on I was actually starting to feel a bit better. The weather was still lingering, but I could feel the pressure ease. Even Mom made the comment that I looked like I had a little color in my cheeks. I was more than glad too because she said if I went another day in this much pain she was going to take me to the hospital. I wanted to avoid that because I knew the doctors would keep me.